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READING: GENESIS 39: 20-23

Verse 23: “The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.”

In chapters 39 – 41 of Genesis, the Bible describes the life of Joseph, and provides some important insights about God’s faithfulness to His people. Those chapters record that Joseph was sold as a slave. Even so, because God was with him, he became successful and was given supervision over all his master had. Then, because he refused to compromise godly standards, Joseph was confined to prison. Once again the Bible states that the Lord was with him and gave him favor. As the result, the keeper of the prison entrusted everything to Joseph. God then used Joseph’s confinement in a manner that ultimately led to Joseph being set over all the land of Egypt. Joseph truly had hard times! However, the lesson is that hard times for a person do not necessarily mean the Lord is not present with them. It is the presence of the Lord with them that takes these hard times and turns them into  times of great victory. When we depend on His presence, He will take what we do and make it prosper! There are times when Christians may appear to be down, but they can never be counted as out. The promised presence of God will cause even hardship to be overtaken by victory and reward. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. Is there any way in which you identify with Joseph?

2. Who can you think of who is a modern day Joseph?